Sorry, but when minor altercations by default escalate to murder, [...] If a slap or a shove demands a bullet,
"By default"? "Demands"? I'm just saying it's a
valid option. It's not one most people would use most of the time, but sometimes it's actually the right thing to do, and, well, given that people are
physically capable of shooting people for whatever they want and irrational people are going to irrational no matter what the law says, the evidence seems to suggest that we mostly get along just fine with that ability.
* imagine this scenario: I knock someones drink over and call them names. I'm not hitting them, I'm just fucking with their stuff and their head. They then get angry and shove me. Then I shoot them. But I was only "standing my ground" because they hit first. Knocking over a drink isn't a crime, but shoving is assault, so they're the criminal here and I was justified to shoot them.
Some points:
1) Don't fucking hit people, dipshit. It doesn't matter how angry you are or how much they "goaded" you (which could just as easily be all in your head), you don't get to hit people. If you do hit people, they get to
react.
2) But, if this hypothetical takes place in a bar, whether or not you get to shoot the person who hits you is up to the property owner. The property owner can definitely say "no shooting people on my property".
3) But, if this hypothetical takes place in a bar, the right thing to do when someone calls you names and knocks over your drink is
complain to the owner, who then has the right to demand that you-the-aggressor leave the premises, and then shoot you for trespassing. So, again, this "puzzle" is easily solved by
not thinking that hitting people is the right way to handle "minor altercations". Minor altercations aren't better with added shoves either.
4) On the other hand, if this takes place in the drinker's house, hey, that guy can throw you out and shoot you for trespassing too. And you'd deserve it. On the other hand, if it takes place in
your house, the right thing to do for the drinker is to leave and not shove you. Shoving someone in his own house is definitely grounds for getting shot.